Northrop Grumman Corporation has announced the release of a new compact navigation system for spacecraft, the LR-450. According to the company statement, the LR-450 supplies spacecraft with tracking and attitude determination capabilities that do not depend on external satellite signals.
The LR-450 employs milli-Hemispherical Resonating Gyroscopes - referred to by the company as mHRGs - to measure rotational motion and orientation while in space. Northrop Grumman describes these mHRGs as smaller-scale versions of the high-performance Hemispherical Resonating Gyroscopes (HRGs) used in its Spacecraft Stellar Inertial Reference Unit.
Company materials note that the HRG family has accumulated more than 70 million hours in orbit and has been deployed on missions including the James Webb Space Telescope. The LR-450, by contrast, integrates the smaller mHRG sensors into a compact package designed for a wide set of spacecraft platforms.
Design, endurance and integration
The LR-450 is designed for extended durations in space, with the company stating it can operate for millions of hours. Its compact dimensions and low power consumption are highlighted as enabling factors for integration into different spacecraft configurations, spanning applications from low Earth orbit missions to planetary exploration.
Northrop Grumman said the LR-450 is available now for purchase and for integration across space platforms worldwide. The company emphasized the unit's rugged design and a maintenance-free operational profile in its product description.
Company statement
"By integrating our proven sensor technology with a compact, rugged design featuring the innovative mHRG system, the LR-450 delivers unmatched precision, reliability and zero-maintenance operation," said Ryan Arrington, vice president of navigation and cockpit systems at Northrop Grumman.
The announcement presents the LR-450 as a navigation option that provides positioning and orientation capabilities internally, without requiring external satellite navigation inputs. That capability, together with the stated durability and low power requirements, positions the LR-450 for use across a spectrum of mission profiles.
Note on available information
The company statement sets out the LR-450's design objectives, sensor lineage and availability, but does not publish detailed performance metrics or integration specifications in the announcement. Further technical details and operational test data were not provided in the release.